August 28, 2014

Indigenous Comix Month at Ad Astra

Here's a posting from April that I just came across:

April Is Indigenous Comix Month!That means a long-awaited feature here at Ad Astra Comix… taking a look at the vast expanse of the category of “Indigenous Comics.” That is: comics by, for, and/or about Indigenous people, history, culture, and politics. We understand that we have a lot of ground to cover this month… so let’s get started!

Perhaps the first point of note is that Indigenous people have never lacked for sheer presence in comics, per se. As can be seen in our feature banner, stereotypical depictions of a mythical–indeed magical–“noble savage” have graced many a pulpy page for decades. Just as popular are protagonists who are in fact white, who have adopted a “native way of life,” insofar as the white creators were able to perceive what that even is. This month, we’ll be looking at that history, and how the example of Indigenous representation in comics can perhaps demonstrate how the question of diversity in the comics community is a little trickier than simply “diversifying” the characters…The page links to seven features:

Comment: I wouldn't say any of these articles are must-reads. But they show some of the diversity in today's Native comics. Especially in Canadian comics, which don't have much visibility here in the US.